Plant support



June 18, 1935. L, GOLDBERG 2,004,983

PLANT SUPPORT Filed Jan. lJB, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet l 'June 18, 193.5. GOLDBERG v 2,004,983

PLANT SUPPORT Filed Jan. 18, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TTORNEY INV NTOR www l l BY M 'l Patented June 18, 1935" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE f PLANT `SUPPORT Lilian Goldberg, Madison, N. J., Applicatign January 1s1934,-seia1"Na. 701,058-

'z claims'.

VThis 'invention relates in general to devices for supporting plants in flower or vegetable gardens, 4pots or greenhouses, and for support'- ing` cut flowers in vases or other receptacles,

5 one object of the invention being to' provide a support of this character which shall be simple and inexpensive in construction, easy and practical to use, pleasing in appearance, and durable so as to withstand repeated. use over a long period of time.

Another object is to provide such a plant support which shall comprise a standard to be forcedl into the earth adjacent the plant, and a flexible strand, such as cord or wire, connected to the standard so that it canrbe wrapped or wound around the stem of the plant, whereby to support the plant in`,upright position," 'said standard also havingnovel and improved means'. whereby the cord or wire can be wound onthe standard when the support is not in use.

support wherein the standard shall'have arms or projections to serve both 'for tying `or con necting of the cord or wire to the standard and as a reel for winding the cord neatly and conveniently when the support is out of use.

general'character described wherein said arms or projections can also be utilized for directlyy supporting the blossom of a plant, for example a Apeony, especially when the stern of the plant `is too weak to eiectually support theblossom; andto obtain other advantages and results as will be brought out by the following description. Referring to the accompanying drawings in which corresponding and like parts are designated throughout the several views by the same reference characters, l

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a'plant supportconstructed in' accordance with my inven-` tion, showing the iiexible strand wound upon* lthe standard.

'Figure 2 Ais a similar view showing a plantl vFigure 4 is a front elevation of a modified form of plant support especially designed for winding of a flexible Wire.

`Figure 5 is a front elevation of another modi- Other objects are to provide `-a plant supportnofy fication of the plant support with the flexiblel strand Wound'on the standard.

Figure 6 is a similar view of still another' form of the plant support with the flexible strand unwound. Figure "7 is a perspective view of the support shown in Figure 6 showing it as supporting the' plant.

Figure 8 isa perspective view of a form vof plant support vespecially adapted for use withm potted plants,'and l f Figure 9 is a horizontal sectional view through the support shown in Figure 8.

Speciiically describing the yembodiment of the invention illustrated in Figures l to'3 inclusive, 15

y y ure 2, andk obviously', the standard will be made 20v A further object is toy provide such a plant] of such dimensions and strength as to effectually support the plant in upright position. The yother end ofthe standard has a hooked substan.-r

tially lll-shaped projection B which is formed by bending 'or returning the end portion of thev 257 standard inwardly upon itself as at 2, .then bending the end 'portion laterally as at 3 andnally bending the extremity of the standard to form f a' portion 4 extending approximately parallel to ythe standard and in the directionof said end. l30

Intermediate'its ends, the standard is formed intermediate lits ends with another similarly hooked projection C made by bending the stand? ard upon itself as'at 5 and lthen laterallyas at 6 andthen into a position approximately 'pary35`vr l allel with thegeneral axis of thestandard as" at'l.

A viiexiblestrand 8, which may beof soft cordv or wire, hasone end connected to the end hooked portion Bas at 9, and as shown, the end ofthe '4d l strand may have a loopto be slipped over the hooked portion. In use of thes'upport this strand is wound around the vstern or trunk of'u av plant A as shown in Figure 2 and the other the hookedprojections. As shown, 'the second end I0 of the strand'is connected to the ,eXtrem-f ity 4 of the end hooked portion; However, said4 end I0`of the strand lmight be connected to the* portion-5 of the intermediate hooked projection 50 C if'desi'red. Theouter ends ofthe portions 2 and 5- are larger than the inner end to prevent the Vloop from 4 slipping off.

`It Will be noted that the U-shaped V,projections i B and C, asy shown in Figure 8, are adaptedto N ,rooien `end-ofthe strandmaybe connected to either of 45A' straddle the 'stem or a bough of the plant at different points to support and brace the plant and that the standard comprises straight portions extendngin opposite directions from the intermediate projection C in laterally olTset relation. A particular advantage of this arrangement is that said portions of the standard may be located upon opposite sides of the stem and a bough of a plant whereby the plant may be bound to the support in a manner to exert pressure on the plant in different directions to straighten the same;v i

Whenthe support is out of use, the strand may be wound over the two hooked projections which form a reel for the strand as shownin Figure l.

A modiiication of the invention-is 'shtfwn'in" Figure i where the standardlhixis'tormedat `one end with a hooked projeotionD identical'with the projection B to which one end of ileiii'ble strand, such as fine ywire l2, may be connected.

Intermediate its endsr 'the standadi's formed with another hooked projection D which can be conveniently 'made by looping the wirel of fthe standard and then twisting it' to for'rnjin effect a T-shaped projection the stemlS of which projects laterallyfro'm the Vstandard and vthe head I4 of which is disposed in substantially the same plane as the standard. `This formof the sup-y port is used in the'samlernannershownin'Fig- 'l ures l'to 3 inclusive, .the essentialfdierence being that the Tashaped projection D'4 provides in the head Iii, a keeper lfor preventing the'wire from slipping from the projection when the wire is wound on the standard 'Figure 5 vshowsanotherform` of the support wherein the intermediate hool'edprojection` E is formed by successively bending Athe standard in reverse directions as'shown at `I5 and I 6.

This form of the support may'be `used in the v same way as the Viorrn'shown'in Figure 4.

In Figure 6 is shown the simplest form of vthe*y support wherein the standard.' has only a single hookedV projection' F at one `end `to which the ilexible strand i1 isconnec'ted.Y Thestrandrnay be wound whollyuponthe.projection F when the support is not in use.

It will thus be seen that 'inthe forms `of the f invention shown in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive, the laterally disposed intermediate portion-3 of the hooked projection serves as the core of a reel,

while the returnedportion Zand the endportion 4 serveY as end stops for the lcore to hold the strand wound on the intermediate'portion. l

scribed the outermostl hooked projection Bfmay the 'stem` This is serve as a rest for a blossom G on of a plant as shown in Figure 7. especially desirable where the blossom, rforexample, a peony blossom, isV too heavyto be ef -fectually supported by the stem. 'f The mainA trunk or stem of the plant may be .supported by the standard and flexible, strand exactly as in the forms of the support heretofore described.

In some instances itmay bedesirable to provide a more stable grip .of the plant support with the earth, and accordingly I contemplate*v providing a'special ground grip for the support.`

ward the axis of the other end portion of the standard in the direction of the extremity of the standard. In use, the end portion 25 of the standard is driven into the ground so that the lateral extension or foot 24 may rest upon the earth, after which the ilexible strand may be wound around the plant as hereinb'efore described. 'Ihe plant support is so related to the plant that strains on the upper portion of the plant support are directed in approximately the common plane of the end portion of the standard andtransversely of the loop extension 24.

H'I'his structure reduces to) the minimum the doni/erging. inwardly towardthe axisI of thev other portion` of the standard, great resistance to pulling of the rst-mentioned end portion out ofthe earth, is ensured. Where the plant support is used with a potted plant, the vextension foot 24 may be coveredwith a layer of` dirt so4 as to conceal the foot.

Obviously, the support may be made in plants, andthe supports being made of wire or other durable material, can be .maintained neat in appearance and will Withstandrepeated use over long periods of time. The supports will,

be inconspicuous when in use, and pleasing` in appearance; vand the supports are inexpensive in construction and easy to use. The flexible strands` can `be neatly and conveniently preserved from year to year and by being wound upon the supports are prevented from becoming knotted or tangled. Also, more or less of the strand may be conveniently used as desired Without the necessity for lcutting of the strand. If desired, a plurality of the supports may be arranged in a row, for example along a walk or border, the strand of one support being connected to the next adjacent support so as to forinv a continuous rest forl the plants on the border.

While I have shown and describedrmy inven-y Vention.

Having thus described my invention, whatI' j claim is: i In all 'of the forms so far illustrated andvdef i 1.'A plant. support for the stem or a bough of a plant, to be .erected adjacent the plant,k and k*greatv variety ofV sizes for use with different sizes of departing from the spirit or scope of the in-V- a ilexiblepstran'd connected to the support to be 1 Wound around said plant, said support comprisingv a wire standard `having U-shaped projections disposed laterally thereof land spaced apart longitudinally of the same to straddle said'stem or abough at different points, respectively, and to serve as a reel for winding up said Astrandwhen the support is not in use.

2. A plant support comprising a wire standard to bey erected adjacent a plant and having a' projection at one `end including a portion re-I turned upon said standard and other contigua.

ous integral portions one disposedy laterally of the standard and another extending in the direction of said end, and a flexible strand to be;

Wound aroundsaid plant and having one end connected to said projection, an intermediate? portion of said standard having another pprojection disposed at the same side of saidstandard whereby the other end of said strand can. be connected to the second projection and said projections together serve as a reel for winding said strand when the support is not in use. c

3. A support for a plant' to be erected in the ground in an upright position adjacent said plant, and a'flexible strand having an end connected to the support and to be woundfaround said plant and support to bind the plant to said support, said support comprising a wire standard having a ground engaging end and a free end, a lateral U-shaped projection intermediate said ends and; a similar projection at its free end for straddling the stem or a bough of the plant at different points, respectively, to support and brace the same, and straight'portions extending in opposite directions from said intermediate projection to said ground engaging and free ends respectively, said portions beingy laterally oiset from each other for location upon opposite sides of said stem or bough of` the plant whereby said stem or bough may be bound to the support by said strand to exert 'pressure on the same in difficult directions to straighten said plant. y

4. A plant support comprising a wire standard to be erected adjacent a plant and having a projection at one end including a portion returned upon said standard and other continuous integral portions one disposed laterally of the standard and another extending in the direction of said end, the returned portion forming together with said standard an enlarged end on the latter, and a flexible strand having an end connected to the standard intermediate said enlarged end andy said laterally disposed portion whereby said strand is prevented from slipping off said standard or downwardly along the saine, an intermediate portion of the standard having another projection disposed at the same side of said standard whereby the other end of asid strand can be connected to the second projection and said projections togetherr serve as a reel for winding the strand when the support is not in use.

5. A plant support comprising a wire standard to be yerected adjacent a plant and having a projection at one end including a portion returned upon said standard and other continuous integral portions one disposed laterally of the standard and another extending approximately parallel to the standard and in the direction of said end, and a flexible strand to be Wound around a plant and having one end connected to said projection, an intermediate portion of said standard having another projection disposed at the same side of said standardand in substantially a common plane with the first-v mentioned projection, whereby the other end.

of said strand can be connected to the second projection and said projections togetherserve as a reel for-winding said strand when the support is not in use.

6. -A plant support comprising a wire stand` ard to be erected adjacent a plant and having aprojection at one end including a portion returned upon said standard, another integral intermediate portion disposed laterally of the standard and another end portion extending approximately parallel to the standard and in the direction of said end, and a flexible strand toy be wound around a. plant and having one end connected to said projection, said laterally disposed intermediate portion, said returned portion and said end portion of said projection forming a reel upon which said strand may be wound and held against displacement.

r7. The plant support set forth in claim 6 wherein the other end of said strand has a loop to slip over either said returned portion or said end portion after the strand has been wound about a plant or after winding of the strand on said intermediate portion.

' LILIAN GOLDBERG. 

